Another cracking cup tie is in prospect this coming Saturday down at Church Lane, where New Mills fly the flag for the Vodkat League in the Fifth Round of the FA Vase.
After their terrific second half comeback in the last round against Witney United, the Millers face their third Vase home tie in a row against a Northern League side who already have two Vodkat League scalps to their name so far in their run to this stage of the competition.
Norton & Stockton Ancients are based in the Norton area of Stockton-on-Tees, and are currently enjoying their best ever season. Founder members of the Northern League in 1982, they had spent the entire time since then in Division Two until their promotion last season as runners-up, losing out on the title through goal difference. They presently sit in 16th place out of the 22 clubs in the Northern League First Division, albeit they have played fewer games than most teams in the league, due in no small way to their cup exploits.
The Vase campaign this season has proved to be record breaking, with the Fifth Round being uncharted territory for them. The furthest they ever reached previously was the Second Round, both in 1983-84 and again in 2005-06 when they were beaten 4-0 by Colne at the Holt House Stadium.
They began their Vase trail in the First Qualifying Round in September with an impressive 7-0 win at Eccleshill United, and in the five ties since then they have been drawn away three times, so another away trip will hold no great fears for them. That good form on the road is also reflected in their league performances, with their away record in the league better than their form at home.
It's also worth remembering, as previously reported on this website, that the Ancients have already accounted for two Vodkat League Premier Division teams in the Vase this season. They staged a great fightback to beat Padiham at the Arbories in the Second Round in November, eventually winning 4-2 with two goals in stoppage time after Martin Parkes and Lee Morris had put Padiham two ahead after half an hour. Ancients also went behind to an early Andy Fowler goal in the home tie against Bootle, but a goal just before half time saw the teams go in level at half time, before the Ancients took control in the second half and eventually won 4-2.
The Northern League has suffered in much the same way as the Vodkat League with inclement weather recently, and since overcoming Rainworth Miners Welfare in the Third Round in early December, the Ancients played just three league games (two losses and a draw) before their win over Bootle a week last Saturday. All their scheduled games since then have been postponed, so there will have been little opportunity for either side to do any extensive spying on their opponents, as Millers manager Tony Hancock revealed in an interview with the Stockport Express.
"We've not had chance to go up and watch Norton and Stockton because of the weather, but I've spoken to Chris O'Brien, the Bootle manager, and he's told me about their set pieces and who to watch out for.
"I've been here for four years and there has always been an amazing atmosphere. There'll be cameras and newspapers there on Saturday so it's a great chance for new Millers' fans to come and support their team. I've always aimed to rally people around Church Lane, we've only lost three times since the summer break and that shows what type of football there is to see. I'd love to see some new faces at the ground on Saturday."
Off the field, the Millers' committee have been working hard on preparations for the game, and Secretary Duncan Hibbert says everyone is looking forward to the day.
"There's a great buzz around the Club at the moment with anticipation high for Saturday's game. We, as a committee, have been busy publicising the game as much as we can, over the last week with fliers, posters and advertising boards being made and distributed around the town.
"Fingers crossed, the weather will be kind to us to enable us to get the game on. In fact going back as far as late November, our last three games at Church Lane have all been Vase games.
"Preparations haven't been particularly kind for the team and Tony on two fronts. From our own perspective, the last two scheduled games (Colne away last Saturday and the League Cup game at Daisy Hill on Tuesday) have both been postponed. With only playing three games since mid December, I'm sure Tony would have used his full squad for these two games to enable the players to get some valuable game time but alas that wasn't to be. Confidence remains high in the squad though as proven by last week's 4-0 victory at St Helens which was an outstanding performance.
"Our opponents last two games have also been postponed as well so Tony and Kirky have unfortunately not been able to see them in playing action which again isn't ideal. As it's the last sixteen of the competition, we know that Norton will be a good side though. Their previous victories against Padiham and Bootle suggest that is the case and I'm sure that they will not be under-estimated.
"Our friends at the local radio station, High Peak Radio, will be doing full match commentary on the game again and BBC Radio Tees will be providing coverage on behalf of our visitors. We hope that the interest from both the local and national media helps attract the big crowd that the tie deserves.
"I know that there is a full Vodkat League programme on Saturday but if there are any games called off on Saturday and fans are in a need of a footy fix, then it would be great to see them at Church Lane. We'll be opening the turnstiles from 12.30pm and for those early arrivals, the Merseyside derby will be shown in the clubhouse".
It promises once again to be a fascinating afternoon of cup action at Church Lane, and don't forget that if you can't get down there on the day, you can follow the action online thanks to High Peak Radio, who are covering the game live with commentary team Ben Price and Norman Taylor. The station can be heard in the High Peak area on 106.4 and 103.3 FM and online at www.highpeakradio.co.uk.
One final thought - if the Millers want to look for omens, Norton & Stockton Ancients' normal colours are amber and black so they will have to change strips for the tie - just like Witney United in the last round.....
